Gondola Incomparable Pizza Acadia

Gondola was at one time one of the great pizza chains in the city, and I have fond memories of them from my youth. You could get an 11″ pizza and side of garlic toast for under 10 dollars, no delivery fee (yes, this is many years ago) and it was hot, fresh and fast. I lived in NE Calgary, and worked downtown, and it didn’t seem to matter where I was — the standard was the same. Even when we moved to the SW, the chain’s standards remained consistent. They had a catchy jingle in their TV ads («It’s In-​Comp-​ra-​Bull…») and I can even remember the cool little Tic-​Tac-​Toe games they printed on the pizza boxes. We never used them, but it was a nice and fondly remembered touch.
Most of all, I remember the thin crust pizza, which no one else was offering at the time — wafer thin, with greasy cheese and actual side bacon rather than Canadian bacon («ham»). Delicious. The crust was always cooked to perfection.
I moved out of my parents house almost 20 years ago, back to the NE, and noticed a decline in Gondola’s service at about the same time. I was suddenly being charged outrageous fees for delivery, but the pizza quality remained about the same. I ordered from Gondola only infrequently as a result.
I finally made it to my own house 5 years ago, and decided to try Acadia as they were the closest. That 11″ bacon and green pepper with side of garlic toast now cost me $ 18.00 not including tax and a hefty delivery fee on top of it. The more popular pizzas are even more expensive — expect to pay 20 or 30 dollars for a meat lovers or vegetarian. The once crispy crust is gone, the cheese is simply thrown on and obliterates everything — nothing seems to be done with care. The flavours seem to be the same, but it is done haphazardly. A very real decline in quality from past experience or perhaps even other locations.
The Acadia location boasts online ordering. I tried it once, pulling out the menu I received in May 2013 and ordering in December 2014. The website is active so I gave it a go. I got a confirmation by email. After a solid hour of waiting, I phoned in and was told «I didn’t receive your order, but I can take it now by phone.» No apology, no concern for either me or the fact the site doesn’t work, just a willingness to take my money. I hung up and phoned Pizza Crave in Shawnessy instead. The few times I have called for delivery in the last 5 years, it took over an hour to arrive though admittedly I live some distance away — I suspect they have limited resources available, so your best option is to pick up if possible.

this is one of my favorite pizza shops in the city. it’s certainly not perfect (they use the pink, inferior, compact-​disc-​sized bologna «pepperoni» for example), but it reminds me of the midwestern-​style thin crust that I grew up eating. does in a pinch, especially since you can’t get a similar pizza without driving for 2 days. However, it would be much better if they used a bit higher quality meats.
I did have one negative experience here, though… Once we ordered for delivery and it literally took 2.5 hours to arrive… and then it was cold. I called to tell the owner to complain, and he told me he would give me a 20% discount on my next order. I assumed he had made a note of it with my phone number or something, but the next time I ordered the guy had no idea what I was talking about and refused to give me the discount! I still get pizza here, but now I always go and pick it up myself. i’m not paying almost $ 30 for a cold pizza that arrives 2 hours late!!!